Always Alone
by HilariouslyMad
Summary: A tale of one man's woes in the wasteland.


"Always Alone" a Fallout Story

Written by, Samuel Wellspring

December 22nd, 2278

One of its heads is in the grass, the other is chewing. It looks around with its glossy eyes,

barely alert to the world around it. I wonder what they think, or if they think at all. It amuses me

to consider that one head controls one side of the body and the other controls the rest. If that

were the case than they do a great job synchronizing, because these radstag are quick. My

crosshairs are placed on its right head, the chewer. "I'm ready when you are, kid." My father

whispers to me, with his rifle aimed at the other head. Once the trigger is pulled the stag falls to

the floor, another bullet entering the other head. "Good work, son. Let's wait here for a moment,

make sure the area is clear."

"Yes, sir." I respond. We always take extra precaution out here in the wastes. Back home

we have fences, trip wire, and a sniper perch, but here we have nothing other than our guns. We

wait a few moments to see if any raiders, or other wildlife come to investigate the sound. Then

we proceed to our kill. "Not too infected. I think we'll get a lot of meat from this one. No?" I get

on one knee and inspect the deer.

My father nods, as he surveys the area, ever vigilant. "Absolutely, son." He says, then

raises his rifle. "You hear that?" He puts his eye to his scope. Then fires. "We got hounds. Get

up!" He fires again, and I see blood spurt from the bushes. Then the bushes rustle as a mongrel

dog jumps out from it. Startled, I try to shoot it, but miss. My father hits it in the hind quarter, but

the beast keeps charging. It barrels into me and bites down on my rifle, as I wrestle with it. A

blade plunges through its neck as my father stabs his machete through the mutt. Warm blood

splatters onto my face.

My father reaches out a hand. "On your feet. We're getting out of here now; these dogs

have collars on them." We begin to back track from our kill, and head towards our home.

"Listen, we can't lead them back to our home. We will take shelter in the abandon shed by the

creek. Lead the way, I'll follow up." My father says, as we slowly move through the forest.

Every so often he turns and surveys the area with his scope to see if we're still being followed.

Snow begins to fall around us, making our tracks more noticeable.

"Do you see them?" I ask. He holds his finger to his mouth, signaling me to be quiet. We

continue to move. I lead the way to the shed, and make sure to take cover behind the trees.

Finally, we arrive to the large abandon shed. Father signals me to enter through the open

window. We don't want them to know we're here.

My father climbs in after me. "Here. Take this. Anyone who enters that door, or that

window you shoot." He hands me a double barrel shotgun, and a case of shells. "You have your

sidearm if they overwhelm you. Now take cover behind those boxes." He says to me then climbs

into the loft to get a vantage with his rifle.

I hear leaves rustling outside. "There were two of 'em, I know it." The faint panting of a

dog accompanies the man. "If we could get their loot, and that stag we'll be set for weeks!" Yells

the man.

"Shut up, they're probably in there." I hear another voice. Then I hear something hitting

the floor with a thud. "What the fu…" A loud bang shakes the earth, and a single gunshot before

the silence.

The soft beat of paws hitting the floor quickens. I hold the barrel to the window, and as

soon as the dog jumps in I blast it. It whimpers as it hits the floor. I get up and walk towards the

struggling beast. I aim the barrel at its head, close my eyes, then end its suffering. "We're all

clear." My father says, as he climbs down the ladder. "Son, it's best to keep your eyes open when

you shoot. Your aim will be a lot better." He reminds me, then exits the window.

After we place the dead bodies into the shed, we walk back to get our stag. Mother

wouldn't be too happy if we returned without the food we promised, and nothing scares father

more than mom.

I look up at him and ask, "What was the loud boom?"

"Dynamite. I keep it stored there because of its volatility, I figured it'd come in handy

one day." He looks up at the tree tops. "The sun is getting low, lets pick up the pace before we

freeze out here."

We finally arrive back home, with the prized stag. Snow covers our fields and the roof of

our home. I carry the guns, and father has the stag over his shoulders. "I think mother, and Anna

will be very happy with this one." I say to my father with a smile.

"I think so too." He says, matching my smile with his.

March 20th, 2279 Months later

My father and I tilled the fresh soil all day. As he plants the seeds I water the soil. It is

high noon on the first day of the farming season; here on the Wellspring's Farm it's the busiest

day of the year. We have to take care of the farm so that the four of us can eat and survive in this

world. It's a lot of work tending to these fields; me and my sister, Anna, are always fetching

water from the nearby river when the well runs dry. My parents have taught us everything we

need to know about taking care of the farm. Dad says that the farm is essential to our existence,

just as water is essential to our crops. I take pride knowing that we're helping revitalize

humankind, for whatever we don't eat dad trades in the city. It's about a five day trip to Megaton

and back, but at father's pace it only takes four.

My dad looks at me with his dark eyes, and wipes sweat from his brow. "Sam can you get

me two more full buckets of water, these tato seeds are going to need it." My father asks me. His

voice deep and weary from the long day. I answer with a yes sir and run to the water pump filing

the buckets. The radiation isn't as bad here as it is near the city, plus my Dad always gets Rad-X

and Rad-Away on his trips to Megaton. We live miles south of there, and well west of the D.C.

ruins. My parents always say to never go into those ruins because the super mutants there will eat

us. Thankfully, we don't get many greenskins this far southwest of the city. Plus, I'm

comfortable on the farm, so I have no reason to stray into the ruins.

Father's been out here in the woodlands for near twenty years now. He and Mom built

this house along with a group of settlers. Raiders used to run a large slave camp around this area

for years, but father's group of friends wiped most of them out. War is hell though, and most of

the settlers didn't make it. Father doesn't like to talk about those days; he lost some of his closest

friends then. My dad stands up to about my height and stretches his back before returning to

planting. I'll be seventeen soon, almost a man grown. In a year or so I'll be taller them him if I

keep growing, and father is taller than most men I've seen. Hopefully one day I'll be even

stronger than him too. We also share the same dark black hair, and my beard is just starting to

grow like his. Working the land has helped keep our muscles strong. I pass him another bag of

seed and start to water the fresh dirt.

As I fill the buckets I look out towards the edge of the forest. We'll occasionally get a

few raiders from out that way. Father has killed a lot of them so most steer clear of here now but,

there's always strays. The perch on the top of our house is where I usually stash my hunting rifle

in case of any raider attacks. We've been ever ready since my older brother's death two years

ago. My older brother, John, was nineteen when they killed him. Raiders wanted to take all our

brahmin, but John didn't agree with that, so they shot him in the stomach. Mr. Williams, our

neighbor, was at our farm selling us those exact brahmin. Mister Reginald Williams had his rifle

ready and climbed into our sniper perch quicker than a deathclaw matriarch in heat.

I remember one of the man's eyes popping out as Reginald shattered the raider's skull

with a 50 caliber round. My dad then stepped in with his double barrel firing it at the raider who

shot his son. The man's chest caved in as his lungs collapsed. It was truly a gruesome sight.

Mother called us into the house once the smoke cleared and everyone got their hearing back.

She was always trying to keep us away from the violence. Mother brought John inside with

father's help. She always had a soft spot for John because he looked more like her, with his

lighter hair and freckles. Unfortunately, despite my parent's doctoring, John died of a terrible

infection some days later. We miss him terribly, and mom still cries when she waters the flowers

on his grave.

I sure hope no raiders come out from those trees right now. Thankfully I know my way

around a rifle. Father has been teaching me everything about the .308 hunting rifle. I can shoot

two mutfruit off both a brahmin's two heads with one bullet, from a hundred yards away. It was

harder to get the fruits to balance on the mutated-cow's heads. Our rifle has a medium range

scope and is very accurate when fully zeroed in. I use it on all our hunting trips along with

father's old shotgun. I can dispatch the usual mole rat or radstag, but I have yet to shoot at a

human. I expect that one day I will have to. Maybe one day I'll saw off the barrel of the shotgun

and holster it on my hip like father does. The damage is impressive, but father reminds me I must

get used to a normal shotgun's recoil before I can do that.

I hear hollering at our farm gate and walk towards it to let Mom and Anna in with our

new addition to the family. They were up the road at the William's farm buying another brahmin.

We get a new one every year to add to our pasture, and my kid sister loves naming them. Our

dad always tell her that she shouldn't get attached, because we eventually butcher the Brahmin

after they can't provide milk or hauling strength. She's only ten though so we let her get away

with most things. I meet them by the road as Anna runs to me and gives me a hug. Her auburn

hair moves through the wind in a tangled mess. "Look at our new sister! I named her Daisy, isn't

she cute?" My sister asks, with her usual love of everything. She looks up at me with her green

eyes and freckled nose that she got from my mother.

I smile and pet daisy on her left head. "Yeah she's a beauty!" I lie. These brahmin are

always hideous, with their two stupid heads. As I approach mother she asks if I can take the

brahmin to the pastures, and of course I oblige. She thanks me and hands over the leash.

"How are the fields Sammy?" My mother asks as she lets her long hair out of its bun.

Her light skin reddened by the sun making her freckles pop. She unloads some supplies off

Daisy. Mother is a hard worker and makes sure that we're all well clothed, fed, and washed. She

even pesters father to bathe, I think it's very funny. Her mutfruit pies are the best and her iguana

squirrel soup can cure anything.

"Everything is going well Ma'am. We just finished planting the tato seeds, and father is

finishing watering them right now. We have a dozen new plants this year." I say with a smile.

"We even finished the fence around the new plot. How was Mister and Misses Williams?" I ask

gripping Daisy's leash.

"I'll meet you inside with dinner, and tell you all about it. Anna and I are famished. I'm

sure you and Pop are too!" She tells me, and I agree whole heartedly. I tug on Daisy's leash and

walk towards the pastures. I notice something moving across the sky. It is flying like an alien

spaceship. My first thought is Zetans; John always scared me with stories about the spacemen.

As I stand there frozen all I can think is, "Please don't come here." as if they can hear me. Well,

maybe the aliens can hear me! I keep my eyes concentrated on the dark dot, and thankfully it

appears to be moving east across the horizon.

I take a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, I dropped Daisy's leash in fear, but she only

wandered about ten feet before she laid down to nap. I can leave her there and get her in the

morning. It's more trouble to get a brahmin up than to just track it, plus a brahmin won't wander

more than a mile a day. I fill up a bucket of water and leave it out for Daisy. I then go to the

stables and fill up the feed trough for our three other brahmin. I'm sure Anna named them all,

but all I know is the one closest to the far wall gets butchered next.

The smell of Ma's famous mutfruit casserole and Dad's radstag cutlets fill the air on my

return from the pasture. We always have a big meal after a long day of working the land. We sit

around the table and dig in; giving our bodies their much needed nutrients. Ma and Anna go on

about the William's house, and how Anna fell in love with Daisy after she mooed at her. Anna

starts laughing as she explains how Daisy kept farting on the way here. I laugh with her, because

her smile is contagious. Father mimics fart noises with his lips, each time Anna laughs harder.

As we pass the food around the table Mom mentions that Mr. Williams had given them

extra shotgun shells. Father usually gets annoyed when the Williams give us free stuff, he thinks

they pity us after John's death. Mother knows they pity us, she just accepts the help because it's

polite. My Dad eventually moves past it and is grateful for the shells. He then goes on to

explains how we had to kill the two mole rats that had burrowed at the end of the farm over the

winter. They were crafty, but my .308 put a hole in one's head before it started to burrow. My

Dad had my back and killed a vicious one with a shotgun blast. We buried them in the new

mutfruit patch and planted two new trees. Their carcasses will help fertilize the ground.

"I'm excited to go hunting tomorrow." I announce as I chow down on a slice of mutfruit

pie. "I'll water all the crops early in the morning, so that we have more time on the hunt." We

always go hunting, but only for radstag and never too far from home. His fifty caliber sniper rifle

can take out a Yao-Guai from a mile away. Well that's what Mr. Williams said happened, but

father always ignores that story. He then reminds me to ignore the hulking radioactive beasts.

My dad hands us a Nuka-Cola, we always share a cola after the first sowing. "Yes, son

great idea. I saw a few stags today out towards the West, and I bet you could track them all the

way to the NCR." He says, referring to the New California Republic, father told us of travelers

that came from there. He said an army of metal men marched from there called the Brotherhood

of Steel. They came to restore the D.C. Ruins and clear it of super mutants. I haven't seen them

and neither has anyone I've met, except my parents and the Williams. I always wonder if they're

making any progress. "For now let's get some sleep." Father announces. We all agree and clean

off the table together.

"Goodnight everyone, I'll see you tomorrow." I say as I climbed the loft to get to my bed.

Laying down I light my lamp and take out my Grognak the Barbarian comic. I keep it in mint

condition, just like my father did. My parents have a decent collection of books that they insist

we read. It's important to them that we know about the world around us. They received most of

the books years ago from those steel men. It's a great read, and Grognak is a very mighty warrior.

I'm inspired by his determination, and his ruthlessness as he cuts down his rivals. As I flip

through the familiar pages I can see an ominous glow approaching from outside. I climb the

ladder to the sniper perch, take out my rifle, and aim my crosshairs around the traveler.

Through the lens I can see a person with a glowing arm, and they're running towards our

house. Their gun is holstered so they don't pose an imminent threat. Just before I'm about to tell

father I see him exit the house with his shotgun drawn. "Halt! Who goes there?" Father yells to

the person. With their hands in the air they stop dead in their tracks. I couldn't hear their

response, but it must have been good because father let them into the house. Figuring the

situation is in better hands now I return to my bed and the pages of my Grognak comic.

March 21st, 2279 The next morning

The sun rises over the trees as I sit on a tree stump at the end of our pasture gate. Father

used the wood from this fallen tree to make the gate. Out in the distance about 300 feet down the

hill I can see Daisy. She wandered down to the edge of the forest to graze on the carrot flower

there. That's where we usually start on our hunt. I already watered the crops and finished clearing

the melons and gourds of weeds. We're going to gather firewood on our hunt so I am clearing out

our bags and sharpening the wood axe. Father said that with enough wood we can build more

fences to plant more crop. The gates keep any creatures from eating our yield before we can.

I figure I better get Daisy now as she's probably getting bored and about to wander off

towards the woods, wouldn't want any Rad Scorpion or Bloatflies to eat her. A light rumbling

echoes in the distance. Looking out to the northeast I see a grey dot in the sky again; only it's

bigger now and coming towards us. Uh oh, the Zetans have returned. I look towards father and

see him staring at the flying object. He was by the shed getting supplies ready for our hunt.

Running towards him he looks at me and starts to yell. "Get inside and get your mother

and sister safe!" Father instructs me, I confirm his order with a yes sir. Opening the side door to

the house I see mother and Anna washing our clothes. They sing along to the radio, it's their

favorite song Orange Colored Sky. There's a pot of water on the fire, surly for tea. Ma makes the

best hubflower tea. I calmly approach them, as the rumbling outside gets louder. Mother looks

up at me with a smile on her face. I feel terrible to inform her that aliens are about to attack, but I

have to.

With a twist of the dial I lower the radio lightly and they look up at me. "Ma. Anna.

There's an airship approaching and we have to get ready." I figure it best to leave out the Alien

part. Rather not get Anna freaked out more then she already is. Ma's face says it all with a

confused look. Then as if she remembered something she gets up and grabs an unfamiliar

looking bag from under our cupboard. I figure it is a survival bag with food just in case we

would have to run.

"Sam go hide this bag under the tree stump it's very important no one can find it."

Mother says to me as she hands over the bag. I know I can run there and hide it before they reach

us. Running to the end of our farm I look for father, I bet he's in the shed loading his gun. I get to

the tree stump and bury the pack under it, there's a newly empty burrow hole from those mole

rats.

"What's in this thing?" I say, thinking out loud. Flipping open the flap I can see several

bottles labeled Purified Water. The muffled rumbling gets louder, I cover the bag with grass and

dirt then run to the house.

Father walks out of the shed and beckons me over. "That's an Enclave Vertibird headed

our way, son." My mind stumbles on the word Enclave. I thought those were made up stories of

evil robots. Never have I thought they were real. Out in the sky a looming shadow of a giant

metal raven draws closer. How can something so big float like that? In a few minutes it'll be

directly above us.

"Get your mom and your sister and hide under the floorboards. Now!" Father yells as he

hands me a large duffle bag. His fifty-caliber rifle slung around his shoulder. My hunting rifle

and shotgun are clean and in the bag. Father taught me that a jammed gun is the difference

between life and death. We always keep them in great condition; we believe that one of our

advantages over the raider tribes is our well maintained weapons. Grabbing hold of it I feel the

weight, it is filled with plenty of ammo.

"But father what about you?" I ask, as he looks at me with a stern look. He knows

something that I don't.

"Son I'll talk to them. Go now before they see you." He grabs my shoulder and pulls me

in looking at me. It's like looking in a mirror that ages you twenty years. "Be safe and keep

quiet. I'll be right there." I nod, and then run inside. Father can take care of this easily, he's a

great talker. He wants us to hide so we're not sold off as slaves or put in any danger; he would

rather be sold off as a slave so that we can live free.

"Mother! Anna! Quick under the floorboards! Don't worry about father he's going to talk

to them, he wants us to hide." We grab our belongings and move to the loose floorboards.

Without hesitation I move the floorboards for my family to get under. Mother has a backpack

full with cooking supplies and a sack of food. Anna clutches her doll and a small bag filled with

clothes. I climb down last and cover us with the loose boards. The bag of guns and ammo lay

next to me.

"Why are we hiding?" Asks Anna innocently. Mother quiets her. The rumbling is very

loud now, and the house is shaking from the noise. They have to be over the house by now. I can

hear and feel the vibrations starting to slow. It almost sounds like they're moving further away.

Can it be? The rumbling is reduced to a low hum, I can hear two loud thumps, then what sounds

like something slamming shut.

"Hello! Welcome to my farm. Can I get you a water Miss?" Father's voice asks. I can see

a small beam of light coming from the corner of the house. Crawling towards it I hear loud,

tremoring footsteps. Two hulking metal men with evil metal helmets stand next to a woman;

these must be the aliens with their mechanized armor. They're holding very large weapons that

look like they can't shoot normal bullets. I've heard John talk about laser weapons before, but

I've never seen one until now.

"No, we have questions for you sir. I am Lieutenant Amber with the 3rd airborne division

of the Enclave army. We have been looking for a dangerous fugitive. Have you seen a man with

a computerized device on his wrist?" The woman says. Her silky blond hair reflects the light in

an enchanting fashion. I've never seen anyone quite so beautiful and with such fair skin,

hopefully I get to meet her.

"No ma'am. I haven't seen anyone in this area except the occasional traveling merchant,

and her guards." My father says politely as he stands there leaning on his rake, chewing on a

long piece of hay. The giant flying machine becomes quiet as the large horizontal blades on the

Vertibird stop rotating. I think about the man that was here last night, and his glowing arm.

Father is lying, but why?

"I have a feeling you're not telling the truth, waster. I'm going to ask you one last time,

and if I don't like what I hear we're going to look through your shed and your nice home." The

woman says as she stares into Father's eyes. "We can proceed with or without you. Do you

understand?" My heart sinks; she knows he's lying too. She grins at father, an ugly and evil

smirk. I no longer want to meet this gorgeous woman. If I had a clear shot my rifle would be

aimed at her head. Although, that wouldn't help much with the two metal giants guarding her.

"Where is the vault dweller? We know he was here." She demands.

"I don't know what that is ma'am." Father says, as my heart then stops. I know she won't

like that answer. She puts her hand on her pistol, but before she can draw Father says, "Now I

do remember hearing about a traveler around here. Something about them heading north to some

Commonwealth. I think it was clean food they were after. I don't know what's wrong with the

fine food I'm growing here." Father smiles and gestures to the field where all our crops are

planted. "I can cook a mean Brahmin steak would y'all like some? My food will spoil before I

get to eat it all." He says as he tries to feign his loneliness in an effort to protect us.

Her hand tightens around the pistol and she raises it up to her chest. Before she can look

through the iron sights father draws first and fires from his waist. He blows a hole through her

head with one shot. The evil leaks out of the women's forehead; her once beautiful face is

expressionless as she falls to the floor. Fanning the hammer on his Magnum he lets a few more

shots off at the metal man to her left; the shots penetrate the armor, but don't do much damage to

the man inside. Instantaneously father is cut in half by an automatic barrage of several dozen

green blasts from the Enclave's giant revolving guns. It feels as though all time has stopped; the

vibrations from each blast of the Gatling gun shutters through me. I can only watch as my dad

gargles on his own blood, nothing left of his waist but smoke and burnt flesh.

I turn my head to look at mother who is holding Anna tight in her arms. The weight of the

world is crashing down upon me, now we will die. They will search this house, more will come,

and we will die. All I can think about is death, and I know mother is broken now. A single tear

rolls down her cheek as she sits silently. Anna sobs into mothers arms. Why would father do

that? He just got himself killed, and there's nothing I can do about it. Did he even have a choice?

My head swarms with emotion as I try to get my bearings on the situation.

"Damn it! We were supposed to fucking protect her!" a robotically distorted human voice

emanates from the helmet of the trooper closest to the house. "If we go back they'll kill us or

worse. I've seen what that quack does to prisoners." He looks around searchingly as he picks at

the bullet holes in his armor. His gaze looks the house up and down. I open the bag father gave

me and load each weapon. Looking out at the metal man I stare at their armor. "I'll search the

house you search the shed, get any supplies. We're getting the fuck out of here." Says the trooper

as he moves towards the house; each step loud and terrifying.

"Hell it ain't our fault she was shit on the draw. Stupid cunt." The guard closer to the shed

grumbles looking down at her as he walks towards the shed. "Now we can only pay for her life

with this damn vault boy. We're going North after him, that waster could of been telling the

truth."

My shotgun would do better at piercing their armor if they walk through the front door. I

grab hold of it and crawl into position. Laying on my back I wait for the Enclave grunt to dare

open it. Then a loud bang shakes the house. A man screaming follows the vibrations of the

boom. I take a peek out of the hole and see the foul mouthed soldier rolling on the floor. His

helmet singed and lying next to him. Our shed was a steaming pile of embers and fire.

Two men jump out of the Vertibird to help the melting man. I hope he cooks alive in his

suit. One of them grabs father's Magnum, and rifle and loads them onto the Vertibird. "I'm

torching this shit-hole! The whole thing is probably rigged to blow." The trooper coming toward

the house yells. He turns around and stomps to the back of the aircraft and grabs hold of a large

fire breathing weapon. With each pull of the trigger his weapon launches fireballs at the roof of

our house. I can't tell how many; all I hear are explosions and the crackling wood as the house

starts to char. Mom and Anna are weeping in each other's arms. They must have been the entire

time, but I hadn't noticed.

"We have to get out of here now!" I demand as I throw open the floor boards, and climb

out, embers fall around me. I pull Anna off the floor, she is frozen in fear. Momma climbs out

after her and grabs her hand squeezing it tightly. Her eyes are just as red as Anna's. I haven't

noticed that my face is covered in tears until mom wipes them off of me. The sound of the

vertibird starts to overpower the sound of the wood crackling. "The front door now!" I yell as

burning thatch falls from the roof.

"They'll kill us if we go out there!" Anna screams as we make our way to the front door.

A support beam comes crashing down as part of the roof starts to collapse.

"The fire will kill us if we stay!" I answer loudly as I kick the door, but it doesn't budge.

The weight of the house falling is jamming it shut. I aim the shotgun at the top of the door and

fire two holes into it. My shoulder aches in pain after each blast. Finally the door falls outward

after a final kick and we run onto the lawn. Mom and Anna collapse on the dirt holding each

other and sobbing. The Enclave bird is well into the air by now; a shotgun blast would definitely

not make it, but oh how I wish I could shoot it out of the sky.

My father's remains lay split on the ground. He is barely recognizable now. His clothes

are black from the blast and his lower half is completely disconnect from his torso. I can barely

look as my eyes fill with tears and my mind with rage. I have to bury him. I can't leave him for

the Yao-Guai. The shovel is still in the yard by the mutfruit patch. As the house is engulfed by

flames I dig continuously. The sniper tower on the house comes crashing down in a cloud of

ashes and embers. My comic within.

Once the grave is deep enough I wrap papa in a cloth. I roll his body into the hole and it

makes a loud thump. I can't help but fall to my knees and cry as I look at the dirty rag that used

to be my father. Standing up on my weak legs I start the process of burying my hero, and fill his

grave slowly. The giant cloud of smoke turns day into night, and the orange glow of our burning

house illuminates the world before me.

After the grave is full I make a sign out of the fence parts. I carve his name, John, and the

word "Father" below with my brother's combat knife. His knife was hanging from the sign

above his grave. I drive father's tomb sign into the dirt. My brother and father lay silently next to

each other. Mama and Anna are in the garden picking any vegetables we will need. They also

have daisy and they are attaching bags to her so she could haul what little we have left. I can see

the bag of purified water on the animal. Mama sits Anna on top of Daisy and they come to me.

We all stare silently at their graves as mother holds both of our hands. It feels like an

eternity then mama says, "They're resting together now. We have to go, there's nothing left for

us here. We can sell what we scavenge in Megaton and maybe settle there. Let's go before the

fire attracts any raiders." She pulls my hand and we start to walk north.

April 7th, 2279 Days later

We arrived at megaton and sold most of what we scavenged. As we passed the Miller's

house along the way we found them dead. It seemed as their wounds were from energy weapons;

the Enclave must have gotten them too. We took what we could carry and saddled up several

more Brahmin to sell in megaton. We made a sizable profit there. Mother said we had enough

caps to live on the outskirts and maybe start another farm. The sheriff there told us of a

settlement to the west that was growing and starting their own farms, he said we'd be better off

farming there. We decided to take his advice and started our journey there. I can see it now on

the horizon.

It doesn't look like much. A large wired fence looms in the distance. Behind it there are

several buildings, I'd say roughly a half dozen, all made from scrap metal and wood. Except for

one, in the center of town there is a large building made of cement. It looks like it has been there

since before the Great War. There is not a farm in sight. As we get closer I can see the

patchwork on the building and a sign that reads Wills Western Watering Hole. I think it's a corny

name, but apparently Will doesn't. A man with an assault rifle stops us as we come to the front

gate. It isn't much, just a few wooden boards maybe eight feet tall. It's connected to the barbed

wire fence that surrounds the perimeter of the town.

"Welcome to Westgate. Travelers or settlers?" The man says in a solemn tone. He seems

annoyed that we have shown up here, as if we have made his day more difficult. Mother explains

our situation and tells him that we would like to settle and start a farm. He sighs and opens the

gate. "Talk to Ray. He's the owner over at Will's." The man points at the large cement building.

We start on in until the man stops us. "The Brahmin has to stay out here. No room in the town

for it." Mother nods as we take our belongings off of daisy and enter the town. Mother takes the

hunting rifle, and I take the double barrel, the combat knife is holstered on my boot. We're pretty

accustom to carrying our weapons now. Surprisingly we've only needed to use them once. Those

raiders never knew what hit 'em.

My first impressions of the town are not good; it reeks of feces and there seems to be way

too many people in dirty clothes laying on the street. I cannot tell if they're sleeping or dead.

There seems to be more foot traffic than the dozen buildings can house. Staying positive I think

about having our own farm again and how great it is going to be. I know we have enough caps to

stake our claim here. We approach the door to the bar and I open it entering first.

"Welcome to the Watering Hole! I'm Jack, please have a seat. We have drinks and plenty

of food!" the bartender exclaims as we enter Will's Western Watering Hole. Another Ghoul

bartender, huh? We walk closer and take a seat at the bar. Mother gets us water and a Brahmin

steak each. Anna doesn't eat much of it, but I can't stop eating mine. "That'll be 27 caps miss,

but I'll give you the newcomers discount and an added discount for the kid." The ghoul says

politely and gestures to Anna. "So the total comes to 20 caps please." Jack says with his ghoulish

smile. Anna sits there quietly; she hasn't said or smiled much in the last few days. Her usual

happiness is completely drained from her since the day father was killed.

"Well thank you very much sir that is too kind. We are looking for a man named Ray. We

would like to settle here and start a farm. My boy and I know a great deal about tending to the

land." Mother says as she slides the 20 caps across the bar. The entire place stinks of sweat, beer,

and rotten food. There are people eating and drinking at the tables, and a few people seem to be

sleeping. A table far off to the corner is full of a crowd playing cards and yelling loudly. Their

table is covered in cigarettes, bottles, and 10mm sub machine guns. A big angry looking dog lay

quietly, sleeping at one of the man's feet. Slobber is covering the big man's boots as he throws

down his cards and takes a pile of chips laughing loudly. There also seems to be a few used

cartridges of jet scattered around the table. I had just discovered jet in Megaton. Mother told me

to stay away from the stuff because it'll kill you. These men seem fine to me, but they're

definitely boisterous.

"Well Ray is right in the back counting his caps as usual." The bartender says with a

raspy chuckle. "I'll go grab him, and a farm you say? Well we need some fresh vegetables. I'm

sure Ray will be happy to hear that." The man takes his leave to the kitchen to go get the owner.

I sit there finishing my steak and wonder who the heck Will is. Why isn't he in his own damn

bar? The topic eludes me as the men playing cards get louder. It seems like they are arguing as

one man yells over the table about some cheating. I can barely concentrate. Anna stares blankly

at her thumbs as she twiddles them. Mother takes a sip from her water as the two men push open

the kitchen doors.

The new man approaches mother as Jack goes back to bartending. "A farm, huh? Well

we've been looking for people like you!" The bar owner says as he smiles at mother. "The name

is Ray nice to meet you and your lovely family." The man extends his hand to her.

"Nice to meet you too Ray we would love to get started on building that farm." Mother

says as she shakes the man's hand. She returns a smile for a moment.

The man beckons us to follow him to the exit of the bar. "How about we get you set up in

one of our homes and discuss this farm business tomorrow. It's getting late, and you all look like

you need some sleep." Ray was not far from the truth. We need sleep and we need it badly. My

legs ache from walking so much and I'm about ready to use Anna's uneaten steak as a pillow.

"Yes you're right sir, we do need sleep." Mother agrees as she follows him out of the bar.

I don't trust him, but I haven't trusted anyone since father died. The bartender hands Anna a

Nuka-Cola with a smile and a wink as we walk out behind Ray.

May 28th, 2279 A month later

It's humid in the community house where we've been shacked up for weeks. Ray set us

up here in a long shack with roughly eight other people. I can never tell exactly how many

strangers are here because, the faces in the beds are always changing. We've kept to ourselves

and are set up in our own corner. Only walls separate us from the other travelers; there are no

doors in the dwelling. I've been teaching Anna how to shoot with the hunting rifle and she's

been getting pretty good, but she rarely leaves her bed. Mother has been working at the bar

cooking and serving food; she mostly cuts vegetables and puts the chef's food on plates. We've

stashed our caps into our mattresses to keep them out of sight. Mother doesn't make much from

the bar but she hopes she can convince Ray to start building the farm house soon. I'd be happy if

we can at least start to fence off land for us to work. I'm convinced he has no intention of doing

either.

Mother walks in from a night at the bar. It's very late and Anna lays asleep in her bed.

I'm cleaning the hunting rifle as I sit on the bench against the wall. A few candles light the

darkness. She holds a bag of caps in her hand and tosses them to me. "I made forty caps tonight,

not much but it'll buy us food for tomorrow." I sigh and stuff the caps into the mattress with the

rest. They're starting to bother me as I sleep, but at least we have caps. "Ray insists on you

coming to work for him. He says he needs men to work security, and he's very impressed with

your gun handling skills. I tell him you'd be a better busboy. That place is so filthy they need

someone to clean it." Mother says, as she lets her hair down, the grey starting to take over.

"Mom we need to get working on the farm. We're being wasted here. I mean come on,

forty caps? That can just barely feed us. A whole plot of gourd, melons and tatos will feed us and

most of the community." I plead with her to get Ray to give us land and hands to tend to the

field. "Within a week we can have the seed planted and growing. I can tend to the field myself

once the fence is up and we can get the land tilled in a few days. We are in the best time to start

growing." I tell her as I finish cleaning the barrel of the rifle and attach it to the chamber.

She sighs as she hangs her apron off her bed. "Samuel you need to slow down. I

understand we need to get back to our roots, but for now we have to just survive." She kneels

down in front of me and places her hands on mine. "We need to be patient and wait until the

community is ready to help us." She says quietly as the scent of liquor floats off her breath. Is

she drunk? I immediately stand up and move her hands from mine.

"Wait for this community to be ready? You mean these junkies? They can barely stand

and you want me to wait for them to be ready to work the land? Well they can fuck off, I'm

doing this on my own." I grab my rifle and walk out of the room and into the streets; my ammo

bag hanging from my shoulder. I hear Anna start to whimper as I walk off. Mother's lucky I

didn't ask her why she smelt of liquor.

The streets are just as filthy as the day we came here, if not filthier. How could these

people live like this? I walk my way to the exit to get some fresh air and be away from the

stench of shit. Hopefully I can track a nice healthy Radstag. The sun is set and the stars are out

in force; the full moon lights my way. As I reach the gate I hear a bell ringing, then another, and

another. A symphony of bells start to ring and then a guard yells "Raiders!" The sound of gunfire

emanates from the perimeter, and bullets start to wiz past me. I take cover behind a shack and

grip my rifle. Guards run past me firing their automatic weapons into the distance. One of them

gets hit in the chest and dies right in front of me, choking on his own blood like my father had.

I pull my rifle to my eye and peer through the scope. Taking aim at a raider I fire with a

miss that goes right above his head. I aim again slightly lower, then fire. The man goes down

with a direct hit to his head. Before I can aim again a barrage of bullets hit the corner of the

building forcing me back into cover. The sound of gunfire was close and getting closer. They

must be in the town by now or right on the other side of the barbed wire fence. Explosions start

to go off as I hear guards yelling about a breach in the wall, confirming that the raiders are

definitely in.

I cross to the other side of the building and take aim down the street. A raider is in a

hand to hand fight with a member of one of the local scavenging groups. They are known as the

Ace Hounds, mostly on account of their addiction to playing cards and scavenging with their

dogs. They're the 10mm wielding card players that frequented the Bar. Putting the scope to my

eye I fire and put a hole in the raider's shoulder. The scavenger takes out his knife and stabs it

into the man's temple.

The Ace Hound grabs his 10mm sub machine gun off the floor and adjusts his black

leather. A raider comes running between the houses to ambush him, but I get him first. A bullet

through his throat puts him on his ass. The Ace Hound member runs over to his dog and drags it

into cover, poor mutt seems to be hurt. Two more dogs come running down the street and men

firing 10mm smgs trail behind them. Their rapid fire changes the pace of the battle; time speeds

up as their automatic weapons sound off. Hundreds of 10mm shells were shredding people into

ribbons. The song of bullets whizzing by and the percussion of hammers hitting shells livens the

night.

To my back I hear more gunfire and someone yelling on the other side of the front gate.

"Get in there and get those caps! Kill them all! That's the last time Ray steals Med-X from us!" I

immediately get prone and take aim towards the voice. Then the front gates blasts open, and the

guard who greeted us with it in pieces. His arm lands next to me and his head hits the Will's

Western Watering Hole sign. I see a man with a mohawk holding a Missile Launcher outside of

the gate a few yards out. I take aim, but hold. I see a backpack full of Missiles next to the man, I

move the crosshair over the bag and fire. The entire bag goes off in a huge explosion taking out

him and the raiders at his side.

The sound of gunfire serenades the entire town, until the mid of night. I add a steady beat

of .308 bullets through skulls, and scopes. Two of the houses are burning down. Loading my

last clip into the rifle, scanning the horizon, I can't see a single raider past the main gate. That

was the last of them, or at least for me. I must have killed nearly twenty raiders tonight, and

their swarm seems to have perished. Sleep is the only thing I need right now, the raiders are

going to have to wake me up before they kill me. I slowly crawl into the cover of the nearest

house, across the street. Standing up I dust myself off and head back to the community home.

April 5th, 2280 The next year

The gate was finally repaired after a long year, but the two buildings that burnt down

were just finally cleaned up. Construction on new houses can't start until we have material and I

see no wood. Not even a movement to start gathering materials has started. These people could

barely get their own town back in order, and I had given up on them helping me with a farm

months ago. I started to plot the land myself after I gathered enough wood. There is a pile of

lumber in the center of my would-be farmland. Father and I had built plenty of fences in our

days together. Most of the fence posts were into the ground nicely in a perimeter I plan on being

fifteen by fifteen. One of the fence sides was the barbed wire fence bordering the town. Now I

just need to connect each post and close off the land. My farm is right behind the town.

Hopefully I can one day build a back gate leading right out to the farmlands.

As I enter back into the town for a bite to eat I'm interrupted by a guard. The man tells

me that Ray wants to see me. I come close to telling him to screw off, but I don't like how close

his rifle's barrel is to my stomach. So, I nod and head to the bar. I open the door to the usual

yelling and screaming. The men with the 10mm sub machine guns and jet are playing their usual

game of cards. It could be poker or caravan, I can care less. The empty seat at the bar calls my

name and I answer, taking a seat I tell the bartender I'd like a water and that I need to talk to

Ray.

After a moment the bartender comes back and slides a water to me in exchange for my

caps. He informs me that Ray will be out in a moment. I disregard his answer and take my

water to the kitchen to find Ray myself. Hopefully mother is in the kitchen and not drinking like

she has been. I understand losing father has destroyed her, but now we're losing her. It's making

Anna a whole lot worse too; all she does is stay in that community house and sleep or cry. The

door to the kitchen easily pushes open and mother is there taking food off of the fire.

She smiles at me slowly. "Hey how are you honey, would you like a Nuka-Cola?" She

says softly, and dully. I look at her with suspicion, and nod. "They're over in the cooler go grab

one." She fixes two plates of food on the table in front of her. A chef and his sous are over on

the far end by the stoves. They usually grill brahmin steak or radstag venison. Sometimes they

even got fried mirelurk. Mother is boiling vegetables that have come from Megaton. She cuts all

the rotten parts off and puts them into a bucket. The usual flare she had when cooking is drained

from her. She's definitely high, numb. It's sad but I hope it's Whiskey; for I know Med-X

kills mercilessly.

"I'm fine mother. Where's Ray, someone told me he wanted to talk to me." She smiles

and extends an arm to point at the back door. Her hand barely extends before it falls back to her

side. "Thanks mother. I think you need to stop drinking so that you can save more than thirty

caps tonight." I walk to the back door and try to open it, but it's locked. I give a knock.

Mother turns to me and looks at me with her green eyes, bloodshot. "Hey, I work very

hard over here so that I can feed you two. Show me some respect." She tries to say sternly, but

falls flat. It breaks my heart, and I have to apologize to save me from death by guilt. This women

used to strike fear into me that a Deathclaw would strike into any person. Now she's but a husk

of her former self. Ray abruptly opens the door and looks at me with a grimace on his face. He

grabs my arm and pulls me into his room.

"What the fuck are you doing out there, boy?" He asks me sternly, crossing his arms.

"I'm trying to rebuild this damn town and you're out there wasting all the lumber in the area. If

you don't stop fucking around and start to contribute here you're as good as dead to us. You

understand me, boy?" The man scolds me as he stares into my eyes. I stare back and think of

how father would have blew a hole in his head with the forty-four.

I grin and pat my hand on his shoulder. "Well don't worry, sir. I fully understand. You

want me to work and become one with the community. I'll remove the lumber from my farm

land and bring it here. We can rebuild the houses in a week's time. There's no need to be angry

I'm an understanding man." I smile as I tell him what he wants to hear. He thinks I'm stupid and

uses me for my strength. I tower over the angry balding man.

"Good. I need you to bring that lumber right to the houses. We're going to start

rebuilding them and you'll be there. If you're not there, consider yourself a useless part of this

community. You get me, boy? Your mother is out here sweating to feed the people of this

community while you're out there lollygagging and playing as a hunter." The man scolds me as

he shakes his hand at me.

He mocks me for going hunting each morning. When I wake up I clean my rifle and run

miles through the barren wasteland to hunt Radstag within the forest. Ray and the chefs laugh at

me for I've only brought back one stag. I brought it to Ray and he gave me a free meal for my

family, and not a single cap. As he looks at me with his stupid angry face I nod and comply,

feigning concern with the man. I care not for his endeavors and can see through his folly.

I grin and extend my hand. "Well thank you, sir. I'll get right to work. My mother really

does enjoy working here. I'm not sure if it's the happiness of feeding people or the drugs." I say

with sarcastic sincerity. Ray looks down at me as his mouth tightens into an angry frown. He

points at the door and tells me to get to work. I turn and leave, giving mother a hug and kiss on

the way out.

On my to the exit of the bar I decide to stop at the table with the 10mm machine guns and

the card game. "Hey, I'd like to try my hand at poker…or whatever this is y'all are playing." I

say to the group as they stare at me. A big man with a white grizzly beard and a slobbering beast

at his shoes tells me to pull up a chair. A woman with a deck of cards starts to shuffle them in her

hand. We all used to play poker on the Wellspring's farm. John was really good, but I always

told him it was his good luck. How wrong I was.

The dog at the man's feet sits up and sniffs my knuckle. I smile at her and pet her behind

the ears. "The name is Greg, but you call me Big Boss." He puts his hand under the dogs chin

and scratches her playfully. "This right here is Tina. I named her after my bitch of an ex." The

man throws his fat stomach out and bellows in laughter. His gang members laugh with him like

a pack of wild dogs.

Laughing along with the ugly joke I pull up my seat. "The name is Samuel, sir." I greet

them and get ready to play. Big Boss orders me a beer as the server takes her rounds.

The dealer deals a few cards on the table, and starts to explain the rules of poker. I play

dumb, thinking it'll give me an edge. "We'll teach you, but you best learn quick. Especially if

you want to play with the likes of us." The dealer smiles exposing a gap where two teeth were

supposed to be. "We'll take all your money, we have no pity for beginners!" I laugh along with

the pack, and notice that most of their smiles are missing teeth.

May 26th, 2280 Weeks later

I sit in the scavenger gang house at the large center table cleaning the chamber of a

10mm submachine gun. Ace Hound is engraved on the side of the weapon just like every other

smg. Their house is the largest of the dwellings within Westgate, and it's sturdily built with

mostly fresh wood. They let me in about a week ago after they saw how clean I kept my

weapons. They asked me if I'd maintain their sub machine guns, and I seized the opportunity,

because I'm shit at poker and was losing money fast. Big Boss explained how much he was

offering to pay, and the protection he'd provide. He took a liking to my sense of humor and

work ethic. I laughed at all of his crude jokes, sometimes the man was downright hilarious, and

mostly inappropriate.

"We're off to the east there's more scrap metal in that parking garage." Says a group of

the scavengers, as the take their 10mms with their pack of hounds following closely behind

them. They had too much scavenging to do and couldn't be bothered to maintain their weapons

themselves. I think they were just too busy playing cards and doing drugs. Cups of alcohol and

used drug paraphernalia litter the mess hall I sit in. I'm waiting for them to offer caps to clean the

place. I'd gladly take more caps from these suckers.

Big Boss opens the door and walks into the house. "Hey there, Sam. All our weapons in

order?" He slides a bag of caps over to me. I've cleaned about seven of their guns so far, they

each own about two and I was taking care of half their inventory. They really like their 10mm

machine guns. Every chance they get they tell me the story of how their dogs sniffed out a cache.

The entire thing was filled with 10mm machine guns and enough rounds to clear out a

neighboring raider compound. They've been using them ever since and I don't think they'll stop

anytime soon.

I quickly and smoothly put the last gun back together and place it onto the table. "They're

all clean, sir. Thank you for the caps." I take the bag and put it into my pocket. I usually get

around 70 caps when I do this for them, 10 caps per gun. "I gotta get to work on rebuilding that

last house. Ray says there's more settlers coming in from Megaton." I sigh, standing up to pack

my belongings and leave.

"You should tell that prick to go build the house himself." Sheila says from behind the

bar. The gang house has their own bar and when Sheila wasn't scavenging with the group she

was serving drinks and drinking drinks. Big Boss grins at her and nods in agreement.

I laugh and swing my rifle around my back hanging it off my shoulder. "I wish, but if I

help him then hopefully he'll help me build the farm we desperately need." I exit the house and

wave goodbye at Sheila and Greg.

"Keep dreaming kid!" Sheila yells to me as she pours Big Boss a shot of Whiskey. The

door swings shut as I walk outside. Down the street the workers start to gather around outside the

work zone for the new house. There were less workers each week. The first house was built in

three weeks' time, but the second one is dragging along now. We lost our last foreman to a drug

overdose, and Ray promoted me to the new position. I learned a lot from the last foreman; he

was a good man, and a decent teacher.

Walking up to the edge of the property I size up our work. We've built the framework

for the house and need to start putting the walls up. "Ok men let's start walling off the perimeter

now. We've got enough nails today we should be able to finish the first floor." I say as we start

to work on the house. I was able to get the help from two of the Ace Hounds. Ben and Lena are

great help and the three of us do most of the work.

My crew grumbles and gets to work on hammering the planks of wood until late into the

afternoon. We finally get the entire walling up and call it a day. The most productive day we've

had in a while, I congratulate everyone and tell them to meet Ray in the bar for payment.

Tomorrow we'll get the interior and eventually build support for a second floor. I pick up my

belongings and head home.

I walk through the front door of the community house and move directly to our corner.

Mother is sitting on the bench with her arms folded. She looks up at me with watery eyes. I can

immediately tell that something is wrong. "Samuel, someone knew where our caps were and

stole them." She says to me in a sorrowful whisper. I can tell that she is high on Med-X as her

once beautiful eyes are glazed over, and a blank expression covers her face. My blood boils as

rage fills within my heart. I search the mattress and can't find the hundreds of caps we've made

thus far.

"We're going to find out who did this and we're going to get our money back, don't

worry mother." I say as I place my belongings under my bed. I'm too tired to get any angrier,

and I need to go to sleep. As I lay in the bed a list of suspects starts in my head, and Ray is at the

top. Ever since he's sent me to work on the houses he's been getting worse. He continually

shows his face less. He even butchered Daisy without our permission and took the profit himself

on each steak he sold. I think he's starting to give mother Med-X to feed her addiction.

Her habit has only gotten worse. I wasn't even able to mention the fact that she missed

my birthday last month. It is at the point where I can barely look at her without feeling a wave of

uncontrollable sadness and anger. This place has destroyed her, as most anything would after

losing our father. It saddens me how drugs will make the strongest person a mindless ghoul. We

have to get out of here soon, and I'll make sure of it.

June 20th, 2281 A year later

The new settlers from Megaton are living in and selling items around the new houses that

we constructed a year back. They work as a group scavenging and selling their wares all

throughout the Capital Wasteland. Their Brahmin do most of the work hauling their gear around

the shops and streets. As I get closer to each Brahmin I realize that some of them have the same

ear tag as the ones we sold in Megaton, right off the Miller's farm. They are carrying all types of

scavenged material: scrap metal, ammunition, rifles, clothing, and even explosives.

One of the merchants has a half suit of T-60b armor, his name is Thomas and he's an

armorer. The helmet of the armor sits front and center on his table. Its black visor reflects the sun

striking fear into the heart of evil. The armor is a staple worn by the heroic members of The

Brotherhood of Steel. People tend to refer to them as heroic hulking assholes. Father once

mentioned that they took most of our crop yield, justified it with patriotic nonsense, and left

without leaving a cap. Father was able to get some books out of it all, but it wasn't easy.

Thoughts of hope and home haunt me on each hunt. Every morning like clockwork I run

to the edge of the forest, then I quietly move through the trees. I sit by the brook, and take

potshots at the occasional Mirelurk. Their soft faces prove nothing to a .308 but their shells

deflect the small caliber. Getting into a tussle with the smaller mirelurks provides for a good

fight. I am taller than father was, and my height is on par with some of the lurks. The machete I

carry slices their pincers clean off with my swift and strong swings. The new smith pays me

plenty of caps for the shells I lug back to town, and the merchants all pay top dollar for the meat.

They even lent me a few Brahmin to load with materials. After a while Tomas the armorer made

enough Mirelurk armor to arm all the guards in town. The heavy armor helps with the raider

attacks, but not much with the thieves. Ray the confirmed town leader, calls himself mayor now,

proposed an idea to reinforce the walls with Mirelurk shells. I think we'll run out of lurks before

we do that.

It is great to have the newcomers in town. My hunting rifle is consistently full of ammo

and there is a near endless supply of parts. One of the merchants, Jen the seamstress and her

wife Gelda, have been happy to buy Radstag hide and bone. They are clothiers and work

wonders with a thread and needle. I bought a full set of leather armor from them. The armor is

very comfortable for my long hunts and has plenty of pockets to hold ammo. I'm nearly silent as

I stalk my prey. Jenny is an amazing tailor and made it from the skin of a Yao-Guai I hunted

myself. A bullet through the temple will kill most creatures. The bear was stalking the same

radstags I was, luckily I sighted him first.

Big Boss takes a liking into Jenny's work and pays her to repair every hole in the Ace

Hounds' armor. As I expected he also hires someone to clean their gang house each month. Her

name is Anna and she has regained her spirits in the last two years after our life burnt down.

Every afternoon I'm in charge of guarding the front and only gate of the town. That's

what Mayor Ray has charged me with after completion of the houses. Unbeknownst to him, I've

been paying the average junkie twenty caps to hold my post for the night. Each day I now make

eighty caps cleaning 10mm's, and at night I make close to one-hundred-fifty caps selling jet,

med-x and mentats for the Hounds. My profit is usually only one-hundred caps per night because

any caps I store get stolen. Most of my belongings stay with me or Anna so people don't have

easy access to them.

Each batch of drugs I sell gets me closer with the common population of addicts. I've

been making rounds through town to gain access into most of the buildings here; I have been

effectively sniffing out our stolen caps. I've taught Anna how to sneak into buildings and make

distractions. She and I have become an unstoppable team. She's this Silver Shroud I've read

about; he sneaks through alleyways and fights his enemies using wit and stealth. I am the

Barbarian as I walk up to each scrawny junkie towering over them. One of the new merchants

was selling several comics so I was able to read up on them. I miss my Grognak comic, I

consistently wish I went back for it before it burnt to ash. After taking the drug user's caps I gain

their trust with each deal. Every house I check is void of enough caps to prove they're the ones

stealing them. All the addicts seem pretty nice and they're all generally peaceful.

Tonight I wait outside the back of Wills Western Watering Hole. The back alley connects

four of the town's dwellings. Anna and I have been inside all of them but one. I have tracked

Ray and watched him as he always goes to this house before returning to his own. The building

is always locked and guarded. I've had Anna peak through the windows on the top floor after I

hoisted her up onto the balcony. She saw one guard in his lurk armor and several trunks with

loot surrounding him. I couldn't take him without raising alarm, so I have to get inside as a

friendly. Unfortunately my guard armor is being worn by a junkie pretending to be me. So, I wait

in the alley, and for the next guard to start his shift in the locked house. As he comes around the

corner Anna runs and falls in front of him bumping her knee against the ground, she cries out in

pain as tears cover her face. The man laughs and gets down to help her up. "Do you need help

little girl?"

Anna looks up at him with a frown and her puppy eyes. "No! I want to rest on the floor.

That hurt!" She holds her knee in pain. The man bends down and gets close to her, he puts his

rifle down and pats her back. "I want to wear your helmet, then I will be safe from bruises." She

reaches out and grabs it off of his head placing it upon her own, her smile is infectious to him as

he smiles back at her.

I sneak up behind him and clench his newly exposed throat between my bicep and

forearm. After putting him to sleep I inject him with a dose of Med-X. I place him between a

bush and a house. Anna waits in the area to distract anyone who might be snooping around. I

quickly equip his guard armor and wait until the right time for the shift change. I knock on the

door bringing the guard to open it and walk out. "Have fun in there. I left nudie mags in the

kitchen." The man laughs as he walks into the night, holding his assault rifle in one hand.

Grinning I enter into the house. Noticing the first floor's general emptiness I walk

upstairs immediately. The top floor is one large room with four trunks and a safe hidden under a

table. I open the trunks and most are filled with drugs, one with bullets and another was a mix of

weapons and armor pieces. The safe sits at the end of the room under a table that holds papers,

candles, empty glasses and Jet cartridges. I take out a bobby pin and work the lock jimmying it

open. After bending three pins I open it with the fourth. Inside is thousands of caps stored in bags

with some lose piles sitting at the back of the safe. One of the cap bags is the same blue one that

I used to own. I had it hidden in my mattress when we first arrived. That was my family's

largest savings, but only a few hundred caps are left. The evidence I need to guiltlessly murder

Ray is right in front of me. Until I see a note under my sack of caps.

Putting the note to my face I read the words written on it. It's a letter from someone

telling Ray he better be happy with my caps. This man stole my caps and gave them to Ray as

payment to turn a blind eye in his drug trade. Mayor Ray has had to pretend to crack down on the

drugs to appease some of the newer citizens. The note is signed by a man named Greg. As I

notice the Ace Hound emblem at the bottom of the page I remember that Big Boss's name is

Greg. The man payed me then stole all my money right behind my back. He used me to pave the

way to sell their poison on the streets.

My decision is made, I will no longer be a slave for these people. I walk outside and drag

the guard into the house. I put his armor back on him and hit him with another shot of Med-X

leaving the drugs out on the table. I take out a whiskey bottle and take a long swig. I pour a glass

and leave it out on the table. No one will believe his story if he even remembers what happened

to him. I leave him there after locking all the locks in the house including the front door.

As I walk with Anna back to our home we talk about her day. She tells me how she

helped feed all of the merchant's Brahmin again and was able to steal two vegetables from Helga

the food merchant. We always had food for our ceremonious midnight snack. I bite into a tato as

she munches on an ear of corn. She has grown a lot for her age, and is more mature than me

when I was twelve. She's seen too many horrible things in her short life, and it has aged her

mentally. The drugs here scare me more than anything, I fear her being at the end of any needle.

We finally reach the community house, and I walk towards our corner expecting mother

to be passed out on the bench again. Getting closer to our beds I notice mother sitting on the

bench exactly how I assumed. She is slouched against the wall, clearly asleep with her head

resting against the wood. I notice a shine as a candle light shimmers off a silver object on the

floor. I bend down and grab hold of a medical syringe. My heart skips a beat as I look up at

mother in her stillness. Standing up I place my fingers on her throat to feel for a pulse. "Mom?

Mom wake up." Putting my head to her chest, listening for a heartbeat, I beg for her to answer

me. "Ma wake up!" I yell as she deafens me with her silence. Everything I foresaw has

happened. Every time I saw her I warned her.

Anna starts to cry loudly as she falls to her knees. I lay mother down on the bench and

press against her chest trying to pump blood back throughout her body. The traveling medics

taught us this technique for heart problems and overdosing. I then tilt her head back and blow a

full breath of air into her lungs through her mouth in an effort to revive her. I keep it up for ten

minutes as a large crowd gathers behind me, guards come running in to see the commotion. I

give up after her pulse is still absent, and her heart beats no more.

As the crescent moon looks down upon me I dig another grave for another family

member. I cry all night and sleep next to the pile of dirt, Anna alongside me. She hasn't been

able to leave my side since. We wake up at the first sign of light and quietly share our favorite

memories of mother, and together we remember her happiness. As I look at her through my

foggy eyes I see my mother as she was in her youth. We tear, and try to laugh as we reminisce

of years past when we were happy on our farm.

December 23rd, 2281 Several months later

Winter has come to the capital wasteland yet again. The town streets fill with snow as I

walk along them. The usually chatter of trade happens around me as I walk through the market

and buy a fresh set of leather gear, and a pile of raw leather. I tell the merchant I need the leather

to hem my armor.

Each week I visit the arms dealer, Paula, and buy around one-hundred rounds of .308 and

shotgun shells; I got hollows, and buckshot. Paula always greets me warmly with her raspy

Ghoul voice. "Damn kid that's a lot of ammo! You huntin' Deathclaws?" She says as she hands

over the .308, shells, and 10mm rounds. I buy double today; winter always brings the Yao-Guai

out. Joe, Paula's husband, sells fresh cooked foods and has plenty of water. I buy several fresh

bottles of water and food; filling my pack with my rations. With a deep showing of gratitude I

give them more caps than usual, then head out of their home. I remember building this house, I

even remember nailing in the doorway. It opens with a loud creak, and it jams halfway out. It's

obvious I could have done better with the house.

With a sigh I enter the cold and hang the leather and cooking materials from my

Brahmin. During the winter the merchants give me more Brahmin to carry all the leather and

firewood I need to make it out in the cold wilderness.

I take a stop at the Ace Hounds and pick up my payment for last week's work most likely

its caps they've just stolen back from me. Sheila is there drinking a glass of whiskey and Nuka

Cola. She talks with her scavenging mates and pours their glasses full. As I'm there I walk into

the store room to grab a few stim packs. The gang stores all their drugs in this room and I only

ever take stim packs so they give me full access. As I walk to the exit Sheila smiles and waves

never noticing the bags I've filled.

Wills is right down the street and every morning I go to the bar to talk to Ray. Each day I

have to report to him about what went on during the night shift at the front gate. Usually nothing

happens, mostly because I don't guard the front gate. Today was different I told him how I saw

movement on the horizon and that it looked like raiders were moving east in droves. He left in a

hurry to tell his other guards and to start preparing scouting missions. He didn't care to lock his

safe knowing I won't steal his caps.

After getting my business done I walked to the front gate to leave on my hunt. I heard

yelling behind me. It sounded a lot like Mayor Ray yelling about his innocence. I believe an Ace

Hound is accusing him of stealing their drugs. I'm guessing they found his reading glasses in

their nearly empty store room. It's only a matter of time before they find their drugs in his safe. I

grin as I walk out of the front gate with my pack of Brahmin and fully loaded weapons.

After a half mile from the town I hear a boom and turn to see a fire and a smoke cloud

rising above the town of Westgate. That means someone broke into Ray's safe house and found a

mind blowing surprise. I took a page out of father's book with the trip wire explosives; there

were enough explosives to level the whole house and set fire to the dwellings next to it. After a

mile Anna sits up on the back of a Brahmin, moving the pile of leather off her. I hid her there

under the pile to sneak her out of the town and kill suspicion. "Are we almost there?" She asks as

she rubs her eyes, a 10mm pistol holstered on her hip. We're headed miles north to a new

settlement that I hear has farms and is clean of drugs. They even are rumored to be a noble

people who are banded together for a singular purpose.

The traveling merchants tell of this city formed in a small valley. They say it was built in

a matter of weeks. A river flows in the center of the town and provides water to the people and

crops there. It sounds like a wonderful place where we dream to start a farm of our own. Our

chances of survival are better there than in a town where drugs flood the streets. "No sister, we

have about a weeks' worth of walking, and the snow will slow us down." I say as I lead us

through the snow with the double barrel at my hip and the rifle in my hands.

December 30th, 2281 A week later

I quickly put out the fire in the center of our camp as I hear dogs barking. I cover Anna

in leathers and bury her in the snow. Sitting against the tree I hear dogs yelping as they discover

my pitfalls the hard way. A man screams out in pain as his leg breaks on the sharp wood at the

bottom of one of my traps. Most likely he'll bleed out in the hole. The Ace Hounds have been

on my tail since we left. By now they've found out it was me who stole all the drugs and caps.

They probably figured it was me who rigged Ray's storehouse to explode too. That trap was easy

to set up, a silenced 10mm pistol will take any guard out, and I knew shifts way too well. The

merchants in town sold all the explosive parts individually. The traders are the only thing I miss

from that town; in the wasteland you only have what's on your back, and that's only a double

barrel and my hunting rifle.

One of the Ace Hounds stalks past me thinking he'll sneak up on me at my fire. I aim my

shotgun at his head and pierce a slug through him killing him instantly. I then take off into the

forest taking cover under a fallen tree, replacing the shell I fired. I hear men running after me

and shouting. Then an explosion rings through the forest. They just set off my hanging grenade

trap. The trees those explosives were hanging on are right behind me; they're running right into

each trap. A dog jumps over the log and I cave its chest in with a shotgun blast. I always feel a

wave of guilt for each dog I have to kill. Their masters are the ones who deserve it.

Taking off I run towards the hill, sliding down I pass my bear trap. I cover it with more

snow and take off to a thicket for cover. A few bullets wiz in my direction. I hear a man let out a

howl as his leg gets broken by the bear trap. I put my rifle to my eye and place his head between

the iron sights. With a pull I put him out of his misery. A few bullets splinter the bark as I duck

back into cover. A long string is tied around my rifle's trigger and throw it a few yards to my

left. The string tightens as I give it a yank and the hunting rifle shoots into the air. A barrage of

10mm bullets shoot in the direction of the gunfire proving it to be a good distraction.

Darting in the opposite direction I blast two shells from my double barrel at the men. I

hit one man and knock him on his ass. The Ace Hound is poked full of tiny holes, but none are

lethal. He groans on the floor and screams about his sudden blindness. I jump into a pile of

snow as more bullets fire into my direction. Quickly I reload the shells and peek out of cover. I

see Big Boss running towards me. Taking aim with the double barrel I fire at him, but he notices

me and ducks before the shells can hit him. He then gets up and runs forward spraying his

10mm into the trees I hide behind.

I get down and crouch on my knee and try to reload my shotgun. I hear footsteps and get

ready to spring into action. As the barrel of his 10mm comes around the tree I jump up and bash

the stock of my shotgun into his hands. The 10mm goes flying into the snow. I bash the stock

back into him, this time his stomach. He falls onto the floor and groans in pain, I hear swift

movement next to me and turn to see Tina's bared teeth. I lift my arm and she bites down on it

hard throwing the shotgun to the floor.

Yelling out in pain I punch the hound in the side of the face trying to open her jaws. The

dog only gets angrier and her bite tightens, ripping into my forearm. She starts to shake her head

around to shear the flesh from my bone. I take out the combat knife from my boot and jab it

directly into her throat releasing a stream of hot blood onto the snow. Her jaw tightens on my

forearm. I wince in pain and drag the blade across the dog's throat releasing her soul from the

world and my arm from her jaws. As the hound falls to the floor I hear footsteps behind me.

Turning my head I look up to see Big Boss aiming his weapon at me. I raise my hands in

reaction, a futile attempt to block me from the expectant firestorm of bullets. He grins and fires

two shots into my forearm adding to Tina's bite. Then the gun jams releasing only a rapid

clicking as the hammer hits the broadside of a bullet. Looking up I smile at the man, I stand to

my feet as my dagger drips blood into the snow. My own blood falls from my forearm at my

other side. "What happened, you don't know how to care for your guns on your own?" I laugh as

my forearm throbs lightly in pain. My adrenaline fighting off the sting of each bite.

The blade of my knife is held tightly against the man's throat. "Stupid boy, you coulda

been rich with us." The man spits onto my boots. I slip the serrated blade right into his throat

silencing him forever.

"Shut the fuck up, Greg." I say as he gasps for air falling into the snow like a stuck

brahmin. The man lying on the floor holding his bleeding face died in the same fashion; I

cleaned my knife on his shirt too. I dragged the dogs back to the camp and Anna relights the fire.

I take the bandages and stimpacks from the dog's medical pack; each Ace Hounds' dog has a

medical and an ammo pouch. I painfully dig each 10mm from my forearm and bandage it

quickly and ease the pain with a stim.

Anna goes to sleep after finishing her brahmin stew; we've just butchered our second

brahmin. She is silent for the rest of the night. After witnessing the slaughter of those men she

has nightmares about their screams. Each time she wakes up I try to comfort her but she wants

silence and another log added to the fire. I spend most of the night rewiring traps and restoring

pitfalls. The perimeter is set with tin can trip wire that'll surly alert me of any intruders. I need to

get a good night's rest to help heal my arm. After I finish another plate of Brahmin steak I doze

off under a leather blanket.

The next morning, before we head further on our journey, I dig a hole for each dog and

bury them next to each other. It'll ease my concise knowing I cared for the creatures better than

their masters did. I plant several seeds into each of their graves hoping the plants can make it

into the next season. They most likely won't, but it's worth an effort. With as many lives that

I've been taking I feel it's my duty to restore life elsewhere in this broken world.

January 10th, 2282 Days later

When we finally arrive at the settlement I notice several large farmhouses. As we draw

closer I notice a considerable drop in the land leading into the center of a small valley. A river

runs through the center of town. Houses built of scrap metal are around the river and people in

cloth robes walk among the streets between the buildings. They smile and wave at me as I enter

into the town with three strong brahmin, medical supplies and ammo. I pull into the center of

town, walking down the sloped path. My stomach growls in hunger as we've run low on food

two days ago; both of us unwilling to kill another Brahmin. My bandaged arm soaked in fresh

blood; I butchered my arm taking the bullets out and it's not been doing so well.

A small man stands in the center or the valley wearing brown tattered robes with ropes of

metal wire as a belt. "Welcome to our settlement, child. Please take lodge in our inn, and have

our fine supper. The first meal is on us, we have faith in all creatures of this wasteland. Please let

us help you unload and sell your wares." The man walks to me as his followers start to swarm

around me and Anna. They gently take our bags and brahmin away from us.

I get uneasy with these strangers holding my stuff until they line up and start handing me

bags of caps. In the crowd I notice them passing my wares around and distributing them as they

work as one organism. Their unity is inspiring and just the thing I've been looking for in a

community. The pile of caps grows before my feet and my hands hold two full bags. A tall girl

with brown hair comes to me and explains that she'll take my Brahmin to the Inn and offered me

a month stay for free. I happily accept the offer as I started to stuff the caps into my backpack.

The man in the grey robes hands me a large sack to hold my caps, and smiles at me.

Anna smiles and thanks the strangers as they offer her a Nuka-cola and a cute lunchbox

with a toy robot in it. The long journey here was rough and cold, but it made us stronger. I'm so

proud of how strong she has grown since our recent hardships. Her aim with her 10mm pistol is

superb, and she can hide in plain sight from all predators. Every bandit on the road met an

untimely end as they thought they could overpower me, unsuspecting of my powerful

companion. Out on the road she hid very well within the piles of leather on the Brahmin. It was

good to see her smile again and standing out in the open, not a single shiver.

We walk up the other side of the crater as they lead us into a large inn. I didn't notice a

name on the building or any decoration for that matter. The inside smelt of cooking food and

had two large tables that stretched from wall to wall. Each table could sit nearly twenty people. I

sat with Anna and our new friends joined us asking about our adventures. Servers came out with

plates of food and fresh drinks. They begged me to tell them of our journey and listened intently

as I told them of our hunts. I left out all of the parts where I murdered drug gangs and an evil

Mayor. Their food is delicious, each bite of grilled radstag makes my mouth water for more.

Their freshly kept tatos were perfectly salted, and their beer helped take the cold away.

When everyone was served their final meal the man that led us here sat at the head of the

table and extended his arms. He asks that everyone hold onto each other's hands and say a

prayer. I smile and play along; after all they just fed us, I best not be rude. Bowing his head he

begins to speak out to a man, a man named Adam. He thanks him for all the food and friendship

that has blessed them today. He asks that he please continue to bless us with his bright glow.

The preacher then ends his words by thanking the man for the creative destruction that was the

Great War. He smiles and looks out at all of us and says, "Praise Atom! Let his glow light our

way through this cold winter."

They all cheer and dig into the pies that were out on the table. I realize now that he is

saying atom. Praise Atom. The man was praising the dreaded atomic bombs that ended the world

two-hundred years ago. The destruction has been warped into a cheerful event for these people. I

try to enjoy my food, but they continuously talk about their god for the rest of the night. Not

wanting to be rude I listen intently to their words, but I don't buy into it for a moment. Fuck

Adam or Atom or whatever his name is. Fuck him for destroying our world and fuck him for

putting me in this hell. The old world looked so nice, so peaceful. I finish my pie as soon as

possible and get up to go to my room. The host walks me to my door and hands me the key. I

close my eyes as soon as I lay on the rusty old bed, the hay inside is stale and pokey. As quiet as

the wind on a calm day Anna snuck into her bed, on the far side of the room.

March 20, 2282 The next season

I see them now. Green hulking monsters running right for my herd. They leap into my

brahmin and pull some of them onto the dirt. Blood spurts out onto the mutants as they tear into

my livestock. I see one of them tear a brahmin's head clean off; the animal's other head shrieks

in pain. Bellowing out a cheerful yell he bites into his prey's freshly torn flesh. Poor cow would

have made a better steak. Before he can swallow his bite the mutant's head splits as I send two

.308's into its skull. These big bastards require two bullets to the head to really do them in.

A few more of them look up at me, and aim their weapons at me. This is when the

adrenaline kicks in. They charge like Yao-Guai and gain on my porch quickly, but their shots

are shit. I take cover behind the metal half-wall on my porch. With my iron sights I target the

mutants and pull the trigger. Firing off five shots I kill two. Gunshots start ringing out in my

sniper tower; with every few shots Anna makes more mutants fall. I had bought her a fresh

sniper rifle and put father's scope on it. My iron sights work more in my favor; close range.

We continue to rain lead into the super mutants until the smoke clears and the screaming

stops. "Looks like harvest has come early for Mister Wiggles and Miss Moomers, Anna." I yell

to her in the tower as I walk to my slain herd. It's time to bring them to the butcher.

"Shut it, idiot. You know I don't name them anymore." Anna says as she hangs her rifle

on the porch wall. She steps down the stairs and comes to help me clear the bodies. "They're as

good as dead anyway." She says with her stinging negativity. She's as stubborn as the skulls in

these ugly green mutants, or at least she thinks she is.

I always try to cheer her up, but nothing ever works anymore. "Awh, come on now I'm

just playing. Run to town and get Vivian and Moe at the butcher shop. Tell them we need help

carrying Moorissa and the rest of the brahmin back to town. Fresh meat." Chuckling she grins

and throws her gloves at me. "I'll start clearing the dead super mutants from our pasture." I tell

her and shoo her away. She runs down into the valley towards the town butcher.

Best to pile these mutants and burn them; I'd die of exhaustion if I were to bury each one.

Then I have to herd these damn animals again. As I hoist one of the mutants toward his fallen

brothers. Blood leaks out of his skull where a bullet had gone in. There's no sign of an exit

wound for this shot; sometimes there isn't a noticeable wound with the .308 and their thick skull

structure. I lean him up against his brothers and place some fire wood on top of them. As I turn

to retrieve the wood I hear a groan. I knew it he's alive. I pivot quickly and draw my shotgun,

but the mutant lay still. Another noise, but more of a gurgle this time. A huge wet glob of

radiated mucus covers my hand and shotgun. I turn and see a disgusting creature with six legs

and the face of a distorted human. Three tentacles wriggle outside of its mouth. These damn

centaur are the result of nightmares given life.

Once my barrel is pointed at the head of the creature I blast off a shell sending it

exploding through its head. I pull again as another centaur approaches from behind the last one.

They both lay on the ground bleeding. Silence again fills the field until flies start to scatter the

dead. Then the light crush of twigs, and a groan. I turn quickly and lock eyes with the mutant.

His head leaks blood as he stands on his feet. He lets out a yell and charges me with a wooden

board; a large nail pointing out at the end.

I duck under the first swing but his back swing knocks me to the right. I stumble and roll

onto my knees. I quickly crack the barrel open and try to load new shells. The greenskin barges

into me and knocks me onto the floor. He kicks me in the stomach as I aim the barrel at him.

Flinching I let off a shot into his arm. He screams in pain as he stumbles backward. Getting to

my feet I meet him eye to eye. His red, soulless, veiny eyes pierce hate into me. He grabs me by

the neck in a swift motion and begins to squeeze. Before he can turn me into dinner I pull my

leg up and grab my trusty combat knife. I swing and smash it into the mutant's skull.

John's blade skips against the thick bone and shatters into several pieces. With the sharp

remainder of the blade I cut the mutant's face. He screams in pain and drops me onto the floor.

On my hands and knees I gasp to refill my lungs. Quickly I roll as the mutant tries to slam me

into the ground. I pick up his nail board and swing it against his head. It shatters as it bounces

off the back of the mutant's head. He falls forward onto his face. I jump onto the monster's back

and bash the handle of the nail board into the mutant's skull. It does no damage. The light

catches my eye and I see a nail on the floor next to me. I grab the nail from the board and drive

it into the bullet hole made by the .308.

The mutant screams in pain as the nail pierces its brain. I slam my fist against the head of

the nail and silence the super mutant. "Well I've never seen anything like that in my life! How

long were you wrestling with that mutant?" Moe says as he approaches me with wagon in tow.

Anna and Vivian stand next to him gaping. I wipe the blood on my hands off onto my pants and

get up from the ground.

I smile at my friends and laugh. "Was wrestling him long enough that I started getting

bored. Figured I had to kill him by then." We carry the Brahmin remains onto the wagon and

send it away with Vivian and Moe. Anna and I sit on the porch and watch the sun set behind the

horizon. We eat our fresh Brahmin steak and drink Nuka-Colas. Our hard work was all done by

morning. We have a good amount of land but not more than father had. I've settled into the

farmhouse given to me by the cultists. They're a much unified community and things get done

quickly around here. Our company is well received, albeit our lack of faith in Atom. They

respect us because we've been key in protecting them all from the mutant attacks.

As of late the mutants started to wander towards the valley and we've lost a few of our

community members to nightly raids. They gave me the large farmhouse right on the eastern

side of the town; the east side is where most of the mutants come in from. I've gained quite the

reputation around town as a savior. I feel a lot more like a murderer.

April 5th 2282 Weeks later

Out in the field a large nest of bloat flies started to accrue. They have been eating my

freshly growing tatos, and when I killed one several more took its place. It is nothing Anna and I

can't handle. We decide it's time to flush them out; my double barrel and brand new assault rifle

are fully loaded, and two frag grenades hang from my belt. Anna is gripping her new 10mm sub

machine gun, and her hunting rifle is hung off her back. We crouch behind a bush about one

hundred yards from the pests' nest. "I'll throw my first grenade into their pit, then I'll advance

and attract their attention with my assault rifle you stay back and snipe them out of the sky." I

explain to her, she nods. "Once they're clear I'll plant another grenade in the remains of the nest.

On my return they will follow me, gun them down with the 10mm when they're close"

"Ok! Ok! I got it! Let's hurry and get this over with." She says rushing me. She's been

very impatient these last few days, I'm unsure what her deal is.

Once I get several yards closer I pull the pin and toss it into the large nest. I run out of

cover and start to spray bursts into the flies as they take off. Every few seconds one of them gets

hit by a .308 from Anna. There could be nearly two dozen of these pests. I continuously spray

and run towards them. Some of them can no longer fly because their wings are filled with holes,

so they shutter towards me on the floor. With a kick they turn over and are rendered useless.

They're very aggressive, but very ineffective. I draw closer to the nest and drop my last grenade

in the hole. As I pivot to run towards Anna's position I see the ground crumbling.

Running as fast as I can all I think is that I have to get a large distance from this

radscorpion or its poison will kill me. Just as I run past the crumbling ground I see its claws tear

from the earth as its spiny legs pull it onto ground level. It makes a cackling and its stinger stands

several feet in the air. I run faster and faster, wishing I had mines to drop. "Anna! Focus the

scorpion! Anna, shoot it!" I yell as try to get distance on the beast. An explosion bangs off in the

distance killing the useless pile of flies.

Two shots ring out from Anna's rifle. One misses, a second deflects off the Scorpion's

right claw. It lets out a screech in pain, as the .308 cracks its appendage, but it did not slow its

hunt on me. Trying to load another clip into the assault rifle the gun jams and I drop it on the

ground cursing its design. I pull my trusty double barrel from my new, left-leg holster. Quickly I

stop and brace to take shots at the radscorpion. The blasts hit both of its front claws and it stops

and lets out another curdling screech. I pivot to run again, reloading the shells. "Anna! 10mm

now!" I scream as I run into perfect range for her 10mm to rip the creature to shreds.

As I pass the bush I notice that Anna is no longer where I told her to stay. Before long

the scorpion is on my tail. With its pointed tail it reaches back and strikes towards me, before it

can pierce me I dive to the right and land on my hip. Sitting up I point the barrel at the monster

and fire twice at it. One blast breaks its right front two legs. Another shatters its claw. The

scorpion only yells and gets angrier; charging towards me the stinger reaches back and shots

down towards me. It stings me right in my shoulder and pins me to the floor. It climbs on top of

me and presses me to the ground with its stinger digging deeper into me. The poison burns my

insides as it's released into my bloodstream. "Anna! Help!" I let out what I think will be my last

scream as I bash the creatures head in with my fists.

The carapace of the creature only hurts my hands as I slam them into it. The broken claw

slides against my body as the healthy claw pinches my right wrist. The force of the pincer is

enough to cut my hand off, and with a crackling I feel my wrist bone starting to break. All the air

in my lungs escape as the light starts to fade. Then the quick beat of a sub machine gun rings

through the struggle. A symphony so sweet to me, as the scorpion's gross face splits open the

monster goes limp as its carapace leaks its bodily fluids. Anna pumped a full clip into the

monster, every other bullet piercing the scorpion's brain.

I push the creature off of me and get onto my knees holding my broken wrist. It throbs in

pain, and I can just barely move my thumb. "I…I think I'm sick." Anna says as she wipes her

mouth. Fresh vomit covers her pants, and two-feet behind her is a steaming pile of bile with a

reddish hue. I stand on my feet, until a wave of pain overcomes me. The poison is eating away

at my muscles.

"We need to get to the doctor quick." I grumble, as I struggle onto my legs. Anna runs to

me and supports me. Together we hobble down the valley. Sandra, the inn keeper notices us and

runs to our aid. We inform her of my poisoning and she runs to the doctor to get the antidote.

We meet her outside of the doctor's shack and she pours the vial of vile liquid down my throat. It

tastes horrible but it starts to subside the burning.

She gives me two more vials. "Take one before you go to bed to make sure you wake

up." Sandra tells me with a laugh. "Also makes sure you dig a very deep outhouse tonight, it's

going to give you the runs!" She laughs louder and goes on her way into town, on about some

lurk omelets.

The morning sun moves over into noon. "This way Mr. Wellspring, quickly. I see its a

radscorpion attack, yes. Onto the table now." The man in the ragged robes pulls me by the arm

through his lab. The same man who greeted us and gave us our farmhouse was the local doctor.

As I lay on the table I take my shirt off to expose the Radscorpion sting. He places a silver tray

onto the table next to me. On it are several medical supplies, and a tall glass of whisky. I grab

the glass and start to drink.

With each sip the doctor lays cloth on my wound to staunch the bleeding, and clean the

wound. "This whisky is all I need. Get me more doctor." The man smiles as his assistant pours

another glass. With his needles cleaned and the wound fresh the man goes to work on stitching

me back together. I wince as the first needle punctures my skin, the rest I feel less and less.

He looks at my wrist and bandages it tightly with a few wooden stick to keep it in place.

"You must be quite experienced with these incidents by now, warrior." The doctor says as he

finishes bracing my wrist. "You ought to be more careful out there, and pray to Atom you're

alive." The man stands up and hands me a glass of water. "Keep your wrist from too much

movement and let it rest, it's not a major fracture." He says a short prayer and returns to his

medical supplies.

He had a funny glass tube with a liquid mirror inside. Holding it up to his eyes I was able

to notice the tick marks. Then he placed it in my mouth and instructed me to hold it under my

tongue. After a few moments he took it from my mouth and scribbled into his notepad. "You're

fine. Take your antidote dosage tonight and rest your muscles." The man nodded as his small

hammer hit my knee. My foreleg kicked forward in a quick reaction.

Stretching my legs as I stand off of the medical table I look down at the Doctor. "She is

the one who needs help now, Doc." I point at Anna who is sitting on the chair in the corner of the

room. Her face is red as she looks at us. The robed man puts the glass tube in her mouth and the

liquid mirror moves slightly.

"Nurses let's get her into immediate care." The doctor grumbled to his assistants. "Her

fever spiked she'll be fine under our care. Please, Samuel, return to the farm and relax." The old

man puts his arm on my shoulder. "She will be ok." He says as the take her into a room nearby.

April 8th 2282 Three days later

The radiation meter in the river reads zero, as it always does. The members of the church

have done several tests on the water to prove it isn't radioactive, and they've constructed

radiation measuring tools from the supplies of an old RobCo warehouse. I hold out my cup of

radiated water that I retrieved from a pound outside of town. Had to kill of a few feral ghouls to

get it. I reach down into the water and grab the end of the meter and place it into the cup. The

meter still reads zero. Cursing I throw the cup into the river and storm off to my farm.

I have constructed a better holster for my left leg to place the shotgun in. It fits

comfortable against my pants. I conceal myself under a robe, the likes of the Church of Atom. I

head back into town and stride for the water fall. Each night I noticed the doctor sailing his

canoe back to his house. Except he always goes past his house and through the water fall.

Tonight I will follow him in.

As he sails past his house I stroll towards the falls. I wave at the passersby, they smile

and return a wave of their own. I get to the edge of the water, where the falls meet the water's

surface. I start to climb onto the rocks and move under the falls. The water is warm as it hits my

back. The other side of the falling water is a short cave. At the end of it two large rocks lay next

to each other. Clearly a hidden doorway behind the boulders. I slowly walk to the rocks and one

of them slides over easily, and behind it is a tunnel.

The other side of the tunnel exposes a large metal wall. A giant steel circle with

machinery looms in front of me. On the center of the steel circle is the number seven. This must

be one of them Vaults I hear about. I'm getting in one way or another.

After several deliberate attempts I can't seem to find a single way in. The machinery

outside of the door won't do anything, and I cannot pry open the door, it just won't budge. Then

I hear a noise, a slight whirring, then a large bang as the steel door moves outward. Light shoots

into the dark cave as I move against the wall. Two people in blue and yellow suits walk out and

into the cave, in discussion. They talk about radiation and walk past me without noticing. They

disappear into the falls, after putting on their robes that were on the floor.

I quickly dart into the vault and onto the other side. A familiar looking woman looks at

me with wide eyes as I stand in the open. Drawing my shotgun from under my robe I aim it at the

woman. "Hands up. Take me to her now. I know my sister is down here." The woman nervously

nods and moves into the vault. The metal hallways are mostly empty, and the tight space makes

me tense. The woman gets to a door and it splits open, half of it going into the floor, and the

other half into the ceiling. I've never seen such a thing. I calmly walk inside with my shotgun

aimed at the woman's back.

"Doctor, this man is looking for his sister." The woman says to the man as he sits at his

desk. His desktop is covered in papers, and a very clean Terminal sits in the center of it all. He

looks up at me as his lips curl to a frown.

He stands up and puts his knuckles onto the table. "Your sister is with Atom now. She

has become one with him. With more of my medicine she would have reached pure immortality.

Yet, you've come here to ruin that haven't you?" The man grins and looks at me with his

crooked eyebrows.

"Take me to her." I demand. The man grumbles and starts to talk, but before he can say a

word I bark "Now!" Holding the barrel of the shotgun to the man.

We reach a doorway and it splits open with its odd sideways fashion. Inside is a dimly lit

room with several glass walls. On the other sides of the walls are ghouls. They are all

wandering inside of their glass cells, dumbfounded and clearly feral. The man walks to a glass

window, on the other side a small ghoul, dressed in Anna's clothing. "Wh-what have you done?"

"I've made her immortal, you imbecile." With that I blast a hole in the back of the

woman, and then I aim the shotgun at his head.

"Open the door now!" I yell as he scrambles for the keys and quickly unlocks it. He

stumbles onto the floor and starts to pray to atom. I pull the trigger of my shotgun, putting an end

to his muttering.

I walk inside of the cell and Anna slowly turns to me. Her faded eyes stare, stupidly

towards me. She isn't vicious like the usual ghoul. It almost seems as if she actually remembers

me. "Please Anna, It's me it's Sam. Your brother. Anna don't you remember me?" I get on my

knee and she slowly walks over to me. Her once adorable face is scarred and fleshy from the

radiation. Her beautiful auburn hair litters the floor. These damn vault dwellers are evil. I'll kill

them all for this.

Anna stops in front of me and grabs my arm pulling it to her mouth. Before she could bite

me I pull my arm from her and push her back gently. I wipe the tears from my face and load my

double barrel shotgun, then take aim at her. More tears fall from my eyes as I get ready to end

her suffering. As I go to pull the trigger an alarm rings out in the town, signaling a super mutant

attack.

April 9th, 2282 Hours later

The alarm still blares outside of the vault. As I lay on the tiny cot in one of the rooms I

wonder what's going on outside. The night inside the vault proved very useful. I stumbled upon

a kitchen and was able to fill my stomach before I went to bed. Most of the vault dwellers have

left when the alarm triggered. I decided to stay and use the supplies and comfort for myself.

There are even clean clothes inside the vault and I'm now the proud owner of a new shirt and

comfortable pair of jeans I can wear under my armor.

As I exit the room I can hear talking down the hallway and I slowly approach. Above me

is a sign that reads Armory. Perfect, this is where I need to be. I turn the corner and see a two

men talking to each other.

"Those goddamn mutants have nearly taken over we have to get the munitions quick and

make our last stand here." The other man nods at him and they open the doors entering the room.

I stalk closely to the door and wait outside for them to exit. All I can think about is their deaths,

and how good each one will feel.

The men exit the room holding large guns and with several grenades around their belts.

"Hurry up! These missile launchers are what we need against the mutants." They start to run off

towards the vault's exit. I point my shotgun at one of their heads and blast, blood covering the

hallway.

"This is for Anna, prick." I quickly aim at the man next to him and put a large hole in his

chest. He falls to his knees and then onto the floor with nothing but a thud. I walk into the

armory and to my amazement there are more weapons here than I could ever use. These

weapons are the kind you need in a wasteland like this. Against the far wall is a missile launcher

in pristine condition, and a case next to it holding four missiles. This is perfect. There is even a

repair bench that I'll need to use to repair all my armor and weapons.

I take out John's broken blade and align the parts. With a torch I start to melt the metal

together. The fire is a strange green, something I've never seen before. The torch father had was

a reddish-blue flame. Once the metal is back together I use the grinder to sharpen the edges. For

one reason or another the blade glows a faint green. After I repair the blade I store it back into its

sheath on my boot. Then I go to work on repairing my leather armor, and fashion myself some

metal reinforcements using the guard armor in the vault. I even saw the barrel off my shotgun.

As I walk out of the armory in my new armor with my new firepower I notice the alarm

no longer blares, but gunshots are still heard in the distance. At a brisk pace I make my way for

the exit of the vault. Before I reach the end of the hallway I notice a room with a sign that says

Library I enter it hoping to find a comic, or anything to get my mind of off my immense grief.

Along the shelves are scrolls, and books with letters I have never seen before. I reach down and

grab a book that has English letters, and it reads The Old Testament. The book next to it is also in

English and it says The Holy Bible.

I pick up a few of the English books and make my way to the exit of the vault. Upon

exiting I notice the sound of gunshots still ringing out through the town. The large metal

doorway looms in front of me and opens to the waterfall. The water glows red as the fires in

town shine in the night. "How long was I in there?" I think to myself as I move under the water

fall. On the other side of the falls is a destructive massacre. Human remains litter the street and

mutants sit around campfires and practice fire on their prisoners.

They'll die, they will all die. I get on one knee and hold the loaded launcher on my

shoulder. I aim it at a campfire and with a light squeeze I send a rocket into the air. With a loud

boom and a dark cloud several mutants explode and send their limbs flying around town.

Movement starts to bustle in the town as I load another missile. I aim at the central watchtower

which is comprised of wood, and launch another missile. Mutant guts rain from the sky as the

tower ignites in flames, matching its surroundings.

I laugh as I watch the mutants squirm and look for their weapons. They did not expect me

to rain fire upon them, and I love watching them fear. One of them roars out and point at me, I

point back with the barrel of my missile launcher and send a rocket flying at him. With a direct

hit he explodes, and the mutants near him go flying to the floor singed by the heat. I throw the

launcher into the boat near the falls and jump in it to row myself to the land.

Once I'm ashore I quickly jump out and sling the launcher across my back, the last rocket

loaded inside of it. As I walk I wield an assault rifle that was on the floor, ready for more

mutants to come running down the hill. As their green heads come over the horizon I start to fire

burst rounds, hitting a few of my shots. I then take the grenades off my belt and start throwing

them into the mutants. I run down the road towards my farm to gather the rest of my belongings.

"Hey Sam! Mutant wrestler! Help us!" Roars a man stuck under a pile of rubble. "Thank

Atom you've returned the mutants they atta…" I end the man's sentence with a bullet to his

brain. I care no longer for these vile people, and their lies. Their cult has ruined what little I had

left of this world. After I gather my few remaining supplies I march to the capital to join my

family and put a hole in this super mutant army. A hole the size of the one left in my heart.

May 10th 2282 A month later

I come up from one of the metro tunnels into the warm sunlight. Those tunnels are

always a maze and covered in feral ghoul, both living and dead. It's always a pleasure to see the

sun after spending a night in one of those tunnels. There's been a lot of super mutant activity

lately, they all seem to be moving north away from the center of the city, and right in my

direction. I've had to stay underground for hours just to avoid being killed. I move towards their

leader, whoever he may be. I aim to end this threat, and end with it.

The rubble of the city is still, and the dust has settled from the marching army. "We need

to clear this area! All able body soldiers need to report immediately to our area and secure a

perimeter. We are making a final push to get these mutants out of our capital." I hear a man

speaking. I quickly run for cover in the opposite direction of the voice. I climb a rubble pile up

three stories and watch from a window. Three men in metal suits run into the street and fire their

lasers northward towards the retreating army of mutants. These crazy metal men must be the

Brotherhood of Steel. I watch as they set up a firing line and take out mutant after mutant. A man

in a leather coat walks out towards them. "Good work keep them on their heels!"

He seems to be younger than me by a few years. He can't be their leader, or are they all

this young? "Deathclaw!" One of the men yells out as he focuses his fire to a new direction. I

hear a roar, the loudest roar I've ever heard. Then a metal man is thrown from his position and a

monster jumps on top of him piercing its claws into his armor. He screams a painful howl. I pivot

and run.

There's not a chance I can take that thing. I have one missile left but it's for this super

mutant leader. I keep running until I smell…cooking human. I try to stop but my momentum

pulls me into the center of a super mutant cook-out. Several mutants sit around a fire, and they

all turn their heads towards me. I couldn't do anything but smile and wave. "Uh, hello." I say

quietly as I slowly backpedal. I draw my launcher and shoot a missile at the far wall as quickly

as possible. The blast sends me and a few mutants across the room.

Before I can get up a mutant charges me with a sledgehammer, and I send a shell into his

abdomen before he can reach me. He falls to one knee before he gets up and charges again. I

send another blast at him and he falls right in front of me. A mutant fires at me with his rifle and

two of the bullets enter into my right thigh. I think one hit bone. My leg is numb, and won't lift

me. Dropping my sawn off, I unsling my rifle and send a volley of bullets at the mutant until my

clip is empty. I shoot his gun right out of his hand. He yells and charges me, I hold my rifle up

to block his incoming attack but his knee breaks my father's gun in half, and the force sends me

onto my back. I quickly pull out my knife and before I can stab him he knocks it out of my hand

and it falls three floors down.

He lifts me up and growls loudly, "Silly Human!" He laughs, but slowly comes to a stop

as soon as hear hears me start to laugh. It starts low, but I start to laugh louder and more crazily

than he was. I hold up my hand and inside is a live grenade. The mutant's face goes wide eyed

and he screams. He quickly throws me out of the window, but not before I throw the grenade at

his feet. The last thing I see before I hit the floor is an explosion.


End file.
